The SPGB are for Soviets

The capitalist political State is not and cannot be a true democracy. It is elected because the wealthiest section of society can suppress all facts through its power over the media. By its money the capitalists can buy up TV and press and these trump up false election issues. The electorate is not asked to vote upon facts but only upon such topics as the press, representing the capitalitalists, puts before the workers.

To establish socialism workers who want it need to organise themselves democratically. As this will involve committees or councils composed of workers these could be called "workers' councils" (soviets) even though those who have traditionally used this term have given it a narrower meaning. We in the Socialist Party have always held that workers should organise both politically (to win control of state power) and industrially (to keep production going) in the course of the socialist revolution.  The difference with the advocates of "workers' councils" in the narrow sense is that they oppose workers organising to contest elections and win seats in parliament and local councils. We reject this dogmatic, anti-parliament position and this will be the subject of the debate. The issue will not be whether or not workers should organise outside parliament (that is agreed) but whether they should organise also to contest elections and send delegates to parliament. The Socialist Party refused to be put in the position of living up to its caricature in some libertarian left circles of defending using parliament rather than "workers councils" whereas our long-standing position has been using both.

It is not because the working class are opposed to socialism that they have declined to elect our candidates, but because they have been persuaded that they can get socialism, or as much of it as is practicable at present, by voting Labour. The Socialist Party candidate might have no chance, in which case a vote given to him would be thrown away, and might, moreover, serve to “let the Tory in.” The latter contingency was too dreadful to contemplate. Far better to make sure of the half-loaf offered by the Labour Party—even though that half-loaf should turn out not to be bread at all—rather than risk getting nothing at all by letting in the hated Tory. That is the argument hammered at day after day, dinned into the ears of the workers persistently in every constituency. Even the numerically stronger Left fare little better than we do. And there was no reason why they should. We, at any rate, while carrying on our socialist propaganda, had not failed to call attention to the sins of omission and commission of all Government, and to emphasise the truth that for the workers there is nothing to choose between any of the capitalist political factions, and that the only hope for the workers, politically, lies in independent political action—independent of and hostile to all capitalist factions.

The Left, however, in spite of the fact that their very existence as a party lose no opportunity of apologising for Labour. "But they couldn't do any better," we are told. Exactly, again. We never suggested that they could. It is not for their performance we blame them - or the lack of it. It is for their promises, and for their hypocritical pretences by which they have deluded the people. But, above all, we blame the people, the credulous radical activists  who persist in pinning their faith to those who have deluded and betrayed them over and over again, and who, as they should know by this time, cannot possibly accomplish that which these Leftists wish to see achieved.  The result, of course, is that their followers would not see that there was anything to choose between them and the Labour Party. That is themost important lesson to be learn - that we must absolutely destroy this pathetic faith in the Labour Party and in its promises before any further progress can be made. It is not the principles or opinions of the socialists which cause their defeat, but rather  the specious  and hypocritical promises of the gradualists and reformists have their effect in winning socialist support and gaining socialist votes.

The emancipation of the workers must be the work of the working class themselves, and as an instrument to that end we need an independent working-class party, inspired with Socialist ideals. The chief obstacle to the creation of that instrument is the Labour Party.  There is no reason whatever why a worker should vote Labour. All their promises are fly-blown and worth­less. If the capitalists cannot solve the problems of capitalism, it is certain that the Labour Party leaders cannot solve the problems of capitalism. Every attempt they make only hastens disillusionment.  Even if fulfilled they would mean nothing for us. The Socialist Party  must attract new blood into our movement, interest the young people, let in fresh air to blow away the fog of doubt and despair. We must face the fight with confidence and answer the challenge of the capitalist class without hesitation: ‘We will fight you, expose you and defeat you. We will give  people of the world, a new hope and inspiration’ With a fighting class policy there is not only hope, but certainty, of victory. It is clear that the working class is the only social force to which humanity can turn to create a pathway through the chaos of capitalism. To this inspiring task, we summon the workers of city and country – all who are oppressed by capitalism. The myriad evils of capitalism will disappear only with the destruction of capitalism and the building of socialism.

But the working class cannot bring its curative capacity to bear upon the situation without it is prepared to fight the enemies who stand in the way. Capitalism cannot be sustained without a large volume of support from the masses of the population. We, socialists, refuse to join the reformists in leading the workers into the camp of capitalism. Use the ballot against capitalism. Vote, then, for socialism. Vote for the Socialist Party, the only party that keeps the revolutionary banner unfurled. The attitude of the Socialist Party is clear and definite. It claims that the wealth of society is created by the workers. It claims that the working class, through their industrial and administrative councils, must own and control all the processes of wealth production. It seeks, through industrial unionism and workers councils, to build up the decision-making structures which will take over industry and agriculture and operate these in the interests of the community.

We carry the struggle on to the political field in order to challenge the power which the present ruling class wields through its domination of the State which it wins at the ballot box. By its victory at the ballot box, and its consequent political domination, the capitalists are able to subdue the labour movement. The departments of State are in the hands of unsympathetic bureaucrats who are appointed by our masters. The bureaucrats have no organic connection with industry and are unable to understand working-class problems. Being appointed by the master class, who control the State, the bureaucrats can only maintain their jobs by serving those who control them. Here, again, is another industrial problem, the destruction of bureaucracy, which can be solved if workers defeat their masters at the ballot box. The Socialist Party contends that the problems of society will never be solved until  workers, representing every phase of industrial and agricultural activity, band themselves together into a class union and elect their own local and national industrial administrative councils. These councils will be organically and functionally adapted to organise and control industry on behalf of every worker in the community. Around such a social structure would spring up committees which would serve the social and cultural wants of every individual in society.

But we cannot build up workers councils, our ‘soviets’,  and leave political control in the hands of the ruling class. We have seen what power the conquest of the State gives to Capital in its struggle with Labour. It is through its political strength that the capitalists can deprive us of every shred of civil liberty the loss of which makes the peaceful agitation for the revolution impossible. The maintenance of civil liberty is part of the political struggle of revolutionary Labour. And in the measure that the industrial movement becomes more powerful so in the same measure Capital will resort to the use of the armed forces and other violent methods of suppression. The control of these forces flow directly from Capital’s control of the State which it secures at the ballot box. Therefore, in order to achieve a peaceful revolution. Labour must capture the powers of the State at the ballot box and prevent the capitalist class from using the nation’s military forces against the emerging socialist society. This destructive function is the revolutionary role of political action. But this destructive political function is necessary in order that the industrial constructive element in the revolution may not be thwarted.

It urges the workers to use their ballots to capture political power—not to play at politicians or pose as statesmen, but to use their votes to uproot the political State and to hand to the workers the constructive task of building up the administrative councils of socialism. To think that Parliament can be used as the means of permanently improving the conditions of Labour, by passing a series of acts and decrees, is to believe in parliamentarism. The Socialist Party is not a parliamentary party. It believes in entering Parliament only as a means of sweeping away all antiquated institutions which stand in the way of the industrial union owning and controlling the means of production.

AJJ